Panahgahs offer Sehar, Iftar to homeless

A festive spirit was witnessed at over 100 countrywide Panahgahs where hundreds of thousands fasting labourers and daily wage earners broke their fast on Sunday. Iftar and Sehar are being served at Panahgahs amid strict adherence to the anti-coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs), a spokesperson said.

"We are delighted by the cooperation of the Panahgah's dwellers that are helpful in the implementation of the anti-Covid SOPs," said Prime Minister's Focal Person for Shelter Home Programme Naseemur Rehman, who broke his fast with the Sector G-9 Panahgah's residents.

A dweller form Upper Dir said that they wholeheartedly welcomed the government's leadership role in making proper arrangements for Sehar and Iftar at such places. "Before the start of Panahgahs, we were always anxious for not knowing where the Iftar will come from, but now we have a great feeling to know that someone is preparing Sehar and Iftar for us and we know where to get it from," he remarked.

Prime Minister Imran Khan's poor-friendly initiatives are paying dividends as thousands of poor people are not only getting food from Panahgahs, but also from the mobile kitchens distributing nutritious food boxes at special routes of major cities, Rehman stated.

The PM's focal person said that the mobile kitchens, launched as a pilot project under the prime minister's 'Koi Bhuka Na Soyega' programme, were serving meals to the poor in major cities such as Faisalabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi.

Plans are also underway to replicate the programme across the country to reach a larger number of people with nutritious food, Rehman said. The government feels that it is its obligation and responsibility to rise up to the challenge and relieve hunger, particularly in the holy month of Ramazan, he added.

“It inspires us to strive harder and also build partnership between public and private organisations to ensure that the programme is reaching every nook and cranny of the country," the focal person maintained. He also appreciated the Silani Welfare Trust, which is the principal partner in the initiative to feed those fasting.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2021.